


A Patronus Charm

by cymyguy



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Exams, Getting Together, Gryffindors - Freeform, M/M, Patronus, Quidditch, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:01:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22103014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cymyguy/pseuds/cymyguy
Summary: They say that soulmates share a Patronus form. But that's just something people say.Right?
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 16
Kudos: 401





	A Patronus Charm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [honnoujis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/honnoujis/gifts).



> A gift for [norainacad](https://twitter.com/norainacad?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor), based on her [Gryffindor kagehinas](https://norainacad.tumblr.com/post/185668610353/harry-potter-au-i-know-everyone-and-their)!

It’s exam time for the Gryffindor sixth years, and keeping with the tradition of every year prior, Hinata and Kageyama are in a panic. This year is preparation for N.E.W.T.S, even worse than O.W.L.S, and since it’s so important to Yachi’s, Yamaguchi’s, Tsukishima’s, and in effect the futures of everyone who’s not going to become a pro Quidditch player, the boys didn’t burden their house this year by asking for help preparing. And now they’re facing the prospect of the most terrifying week in their young lives.

The night before exams start, they’re sitting alone together in an empty, too dark corner of the common room with their abysmal Charms notes in their laps. Hinata’s goal is to at least match each spell name with its function on the written test, but there’s two he keeps mixing around, so he reaches out and hits Kageyama’s knee. If Kageyama is in a good enough mood when Hinata asks him to help him remember something, Kageyama will attempt to provide a useful analogy, usually Quidditch related, and once in a while something he says is so off the wall that it actually ends up being helpful, though not in the way Kageyama intends. Hinata holds out a piece of parchment and points.

“How do I remember this?”

It’s a few seconds before Kageyama drags his eyes away from his own parchment. He scowls harder, harder, and puts his hand on his chin.

“Hedon. Like when…you run a pipe down the middle, three attackers, but—a bludger gets in the way of the head and he drops the quaffle. Head-down.”

Hinata lights up. That’ll do perfectly.

“Thanks Kageyama!”

He pats his thigh and retracts to his own spot on the floor. It helped him remember the spells, but after the outburst of smiling, their doom overtakes Hinata again and he hunches over his notes with a thick sigh. Then Kageyama kicks his foot.

“How do you remember this one? It doesn’t even make sense, how does a charm work like that?”

Kageyama has raised his voice enough to disturb most of the common room, so Hinata knows he’s exceptionally frustrated. He scoots over on his knees and squints at the paper.

“That one? That’s easy, it’s just in the name. Pluma, like plumage.” He compares their notes. “Wait, you wrote it down wrong. It’s plumes, not phlegms. Your mind is so gross, Kageyama.”

Kageyama looks at him with wide eyes. Then he hugs Hinata around the arms.

“You actually helped me for once.”

Hinata laughs and pats his back. “Stupid Yama can’t even take his own notes.”

He’s used to Kageyama touching him, and often body to body like this. It came on gradually through their time at school. Hinata expected it to spread to others, assumed that it was just Kageyama being more comfortable having actual friends, people around him that he could trust and even like. But to his surprise, and a little delight in some ugly jealous part of him, Kageyama is only physical with him. Unfortunately this has the added effect of expediting a lot of rumors about their relationship, but Kageyama never seems embarrassed by it, so Hinata’s learned to not mind the teasing either.

Their first two days of exams are nothing but written tests, and Hinata spends a good few hours in the evening trying to figure out if you can use a vanishing spell on your own eyeballs instead of studying. They each have a practical exam the third day. Hinata takes Herbology, which is his strong subject, but Kageyama has to go up to the Astronomy tower at midnight to do his stars and planets test. Hinata waits up for him, even managing a spell to warm his bedsheets without setting them on fire. When Kageyama gets back he tears off his robe and flops into bed. He doesn’t say anything, but Hinata grins when he squirms deeper into the blankets.

Some people are lucky and have their last exams on Thursday, or even Friday morning, but the sixth year Gryffindors finish Friday afternoon with their Defense Against the Dark Arts practical. Hinata pities himself, but he pities Kageyama even more, because this out of all is the test Kageyama has been dreading the most, and he’s had to wait the whole week to take it.

It’s a simple, terribly difficult test. There is only one component: Patronuses, which they spent the second half of the year studying. Grades depend on how well you perform the charm. Hinata struggled for six and a half years in this class while Kageyama’s singular, unfathomable talent in it led him leaps ahead (in the practical elements only), so they were more surprised than anyone else, even the professor, when Hinata got the charm right away. He had smoke the first week, and by the second a fully-rendered crow was erupting from his wand on command. It was big, mature and strong. And though it made no sound, it seemed loud in the classroom as it darted from window to window and swooped at people’s heads. It was especially fond of Kageyama’s.

Hinata was so proud he wrote home about it. He was the first to get a corporeal in the class, and by the end of the year only two other students had managed it, both from other houses. Hinata doesn’t have much explanation; he thinks it must have something to do with how happy his memory of choice is, and he has the Gryffindor Quidditch team to thank for that. He finds it weird, though, that he and Kageyama are probably using the same memory, either this year’s Cup win or last year’s, but Kageyama is somehow the worst of all the sixth years at the charm. He’s tried to help him a few times, but neither of them is used to him being ahead in Defense, so it didn’t go over well. But Kageyama really needs help. He’s barely improved since they started, and he hasn’t conjured anything in or out of class other than wisps of white. Nothing that would protect against a threat, let alone a figure of some kind.

Not only does Kageyama not want to take a remedial course, but he doesn’t want his failure infringing on Quidditch time. Hinata understands, and as they head up to the tower after lunch he feels almost as sick as Kageyama looks. He shakes it away when it’s his turn to go into the exam room and face their professor.

“My turn, Kageyama!”

He claps him on the back, and Kageyama sways forward as if it’s actually knocked the vomit out of him. Hinata pats him more softly, on the shoulder.

“You’ll do your best,” he says.

Kageyama looks up.

“Worry about yourself, dumbass.”

Hinata smiles. “I’m going now!”

His crow comes when bidden, cruising twice around the room and then over his head before it dissipates. The professor nods.

“Very nice. You’re dismissed.”

Hinata gasps and beams.

“Thank you very much!”

He runs down to the pitch, where they agreed to meet as soon as they were done. But he doesn’t stay there; he grabs his broom and zooms back to the castle, to the window where he might be able to see Kageyama taking his exam. He knows there’s all those anti-cheating spells and stuff covering the castle, so he might not even be able to get near the window. But it’s harmless to watch since he’s already taken his own test. It’s not the kind he can sign answers for anyway, and it’ll be worth detention, even a double one, if he gets to see Kageyama master this spell. Hinata pulls up to the window, and hovers there. Nothing bad happens, no boils erupting on his face or anything, so maybe they didn’t think to charm the window. It’s perfect, because he can see Kageyama from the side, and the professor has her back to where Hinata is.

Kageyama looks pretty awful. Almost like one of the water creatures they had to identify in last year’s exam. Hinata swallows hard and eases a little closer to the window. Kageyama holds his wand in his fist, arms stiff at his sides, and squeezes his eyes shut. His focusing scrunches his brow and his nose, and Hinata bursts out laughing. He shoots up into the air, in case they heard him, but when he eases back around and sneaks to the window again, Kageyama is still standing there with his eyes shut. Then a small smile plays across his mouth, and his brow relaxes, and his whole face gets peaceful. Hinata’s mouth makes a soft o. Kageyama is so uncool, for being so cool. He’s a _dork_ , but that was kind of really cute…

The smile fades and Kageyama opens his eyes, looking like pure determination. Is that the Quidditch glint in his eyes? Hinata thinks he would know it anywhere, and of course it’s no surprise Kageyama is using Quidditch as his happy memory. As he raises his wand, he looks as confident as he’d looked before he failed the first time. Hinata smiles, then grins to himself, his heart fluttering up and up in his chest. Kageyama glances at the professor, who nods. Hinata watches his mouth form the words, and his arm make the short, strong movement.

Wings bloom from the wand tip, and a bird takes full and perfect shape as the white mass darts across the room. It skates along the opposite wall and turns back toward its caster. It’s sleek and beautiful, and as familiar as Hinata’s own face reflected in the window. The crow dissolves right in front of Kageyama, who is stunned and absolutely still, arms limp at his sides.

Hinata can’t look at him for more than a moment before he turns his broomstick and plummets toward the ground. Instinct tells him when to pull up. He stumbles over the grass and sinks against the castle wall as a feeling wells through his whole body. It makes him smile, though it’s more like raw power than like joy of some kind. He smiles, but feels like he’s still in the air, and in no control of himself. Once it crosses his mind that Kageyama is finished with the exam, the feeling whooshes from his lungs and allows him to take in the first breath of freedom, and he runs.

The front doors of the castle are propped open to welcome the sun off the grounds. Hinata’s just leapt the first five steps when Kageyama appears in the outside light. Hinata leaps the rest of the way up, landing next to him. His mouth falters. Kageyama looks worse than when he went into the exam. He’s paler and looks almost sweaty at the line of his fringe, like he has a fever. Hinata doesn’t know what this could mean, but decides on the spot to play dumb about his snooping.

“K—Kageyama! How’d it go?”

He glances at Hinata, then looks again, opening his mouth. Then he looks at their feet and husks out:

“Passed.”

Hinata whoops and tosses his fist into the air with a little jump. They make eye contact suddenly, and Hinata’s smile falters as Kageyama opens his mouth again, his eyes glinting hard. But again he doesn’t say anything, and Hinata hikes his smile back up.

“We made it Kageyama! We’re gonna go play now, right?”

Kageyama is still stressed about the exams, is all, and the celebrating they had planned should make him feel better.

“Yeah.” Kageyama gives a half nod.

“Come on then!”

Hinata starts away, reaching behind him to grab Kageyama’s sleeve, which he can by now unconsciously detect the location of. But instead he feels his hand grabbed by another. Hinata turns and looks at Kageyama’s fingers wrapped around the ends of his, and maybe he only imagines the tiny crackles of magic that brush his skin in zig-zags up his arm, but they send a shiver deep through him. He looks at Kageyama, who holds on.

He drops his gaze and Hinata’s hand.

“I’m coming, dumbass.”

Hinata peeks up at him. Then he looks at his broom, and back at Kageyama, before he mounts it and shoots a grin over his shoulder. Kageyama glares and opens his mouth.

“Well you better hurry up!”

He kicks off the ground and speeds away. Kageyama hollers after him, already running.

“Dumbass! It’s not fair dumbass!”

He arrives heaving and staggering to the broom shed, giving Hinata a few good minutes of teasing without rebuttle as he gets his broom and catches his breath. Then they take off in laps around the stadium. Kageyama keeps at his side, but never edges ahead or cuts a corner, just shadows him there. Soon Hinata’s chatter fades off into a mutual silence. Somehow it’s not comfortable, though; he keeps imagining that behind him Kageyama is opening his mouth, just to say nothing, again.

“Let’s go high.”

He feels Kageyama follow, as he streaks, then bullets straight up into the sky. There are no clouds to pass through, so when they finally slow and right themselves they can still see everything in miniature on the grounds.

They do this often, sprint to the top, take in an ever-changing view, and race back down. Hinata loves to be here, but his favorite part is actually when they land, and he gets to go wherever they’re going next, with Kageyama. Hinata side-eyes him now; what’s Kageyama’s favorite part? He doesn’t have the look of death anymore, but his jaw is locked and his frown is deep.

“Think it’s time for dinner?” Hinata says.

“You go.”

And Kageyama speeds toward the ground. Hinata is following before he even blinks. It’s a long streak down. When Kageyama pulls up on a dime and hops to the grass, Hinata hops right next to him.

“I’m going to practice shoots,” Kageyama finishes.

“If you’re practicing, I’m practicing.”

Hinata doesn’t know what exactly is happening, but he’s not going to let it.

“You’re not getting ahead,” he adds.

“Fine.” Kageyama doesn’t look at him. “I’m going to dinner.”

They lock up their broomsticks and head for the castle. Almost everyone else is going the opposite direction, toward the lake or the groundskeeper’s cabin or one of the gardens. Some wave or shout greetings to the Gryffindor pair. Hinata smiles and waves back, as Kageyama watches his feet climb the slope to the Great Hall. It’s mostly empty, which makes it much more awkward when Kageyama sits in sullen silence next to him. Their elbows bump, but the subtle touch only makes Hinata feel uneasy.

Kageyama’s not looking much better even after a meal, so Hinata’s not surprised when they get to the common room and he flops into the first chair he sees. Hinata leaves him be and buzzes around trading letter addresses and phone numbers. He’s invited on a walk around the grounds, one last time this year; before answering he glances toward Kageyama. He’s asleep, still frowning, hands cushioning his head against the arm of the chair. They often nap side by side, but today Hinata isn’t sure of being welcome, so he goes out with his friends. When he gets back it’s time to go to the end-of-term feast, so he wakes Kageyama, who slumps down to the Great Hall at his side.

Ravenclaw wins the House Cup, and Ukai-sensei gives an even better speech than last year. Or maybe Hinata is just getting more sentimental each year. Kageyama doesn’t seem to hear much of it. He doesn’t take a third helping of curry either, which increases Hinata’s alarm. For some reason he’s suddenly thinking of being in the library with Kageyama, and the taller boy making fun of Hinata when he needs a book he can’t reach. He always makes fun of him, but he always gets the book for him too, leaning over Hinata and putting a hand on his lower back as he reaches for it. Hinata doesn’t know why he gets the feeling that small thing is in danger, but he knows he doesn’t like the idea.

Thankfully though, when they go back to the common room and Tanaka and Nishinoya start a house-wide game of Exploding Snaps, Kageyama joins in. They play for hours. Hinata laughs and screams so hard he cries. Maybe next year the whole school can have a game.

They go up to the dormitory with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi and pack up their trunks in preparation for the morning. Half the things Hinata pulls from his trunk and under his bed are Kageyama’s, and vice versa. They trade them back, and Tsukki makes a snide comment that they both explode against. Then Yamaguchi and Hinata end up laughing, and Tsukishima snickers. Kageyama laughs after everyone else has stopped, a slow-building chuckle that he chokes back in the awkward silence. Hinata starts giggling again. The other two tell him to shut up, and they all lay down.

Hinata peeks over the end of his pillow at Kageyama’s bed. Kageyama is looking at him through the dark. Slowly Hinata smiles and reaches to his nightstand for his wand. He shoots a yellow spark at Kageyama, which fizzles between his eyes and illuminates his smile for a second before it goes out. Normally he gets mad at Hinata for pointing his wand at his face, but this time he’s quiet, still smiling in the dark.

The train comes Saturday after one last meal. Since Tsukishima and Yamaguchi became prefects, they’ve been the only regulars in their compartment, and as he gets older Hinata finds himself liking it more and more.

Kageyama treated him to a chocolate frog on the ride back after their first year, so Hinata treated him to a licorice whip the next, and they’ve traded off since then.

“Hey!” Hinata shrieks when he’s handed this year’s over. “There’s an odd number of years! If you treat me next year, then I’ll lose!”

Kageyama only smirks.

“We both have to give one next year, that’s only fair!”

“But I did it first,” Kageyama says, “So I get rights to last.”

Hinata groans and flops down next to him.

“Last…”

Kageyama is looking at him when Hinata looks up. He can’t hide his eyes so much anymore with his bangs parted, but it’s kind of really cute that he still tries.

“Guess it’s my last one to you, then,” Hinata says.

“So you’re just giving it to me? I don’t get a speech or anything?”

“A _speech_?” He’s back on his feet. “Like you would ever do some kind of speech. Next year you’ll probably just tell me I’m a sucker for giving you free food this whole time.”

Kageyama smirks again. Hinata drops to his seat with a huff.

“I won’t believe it anyway. You wanted to give me that frog as much as I wanted to eat it.”

During the quiet Hinata gets a little pink.

“You would’ve bugged me if I hadn’t got you anything,” Kageyama mumbles.

“Yeah.”

Hinata thinks again. Of little (still much taller than him) Kageyama, bangs in his eyes because his mom hadn’t cut them since Christmas break, one cheek still scratched up from an impromptu Quidditch practice with their rowdy seniors a few days before. The same Kageyama who’d avoided sitting with the other first years at every meal for a whole month of term. The same Kageyama who said he’d pass a quaffle to anyone who was necessary to winning and assured Hinata he wasn’t. _That_ Kageyama had turned from the trolley with one treat in each hand, then dropped a chocolate frog in Hinata’s lap on his way by, as if it were nothing, as if Hinata wouldn’t even thank him.

Hinata finds he doesn’t want to leave the train without talking about Kageyama’s Patronus. If only to tell him how cool it was that he did it. He raps Kageyama’s leg with his knuckles. Kageyama turns and looks, and a little smile tweaks on Hinata’s lips, but he scolds his face into sternness before he speaks.

“Kageyama—”

“Ah ha! Found you!”

Lev is ducking down to look through their now open compartment door.

“Oh, am I interrupting something?”

“We’re just sitting here.” Hinata makes a furious glance at Kageyama, then shrugs to Lev for good measure.

“Oh, well, I just wanted to say goodbye! Kenma-san too, but I don’t know where he went. I’ll see you guys again, on the Quidditch field—” his cat eyes gleam— “And I hope we have a good final year!”

He sticks his hand out, and Hinata raises a brow as he starts to shake it, but then Lev grins his grin as they shake and Hinata grins back. He shakes Kageyama’s hand and leaves.

Hinata gets up and starts to close the door.

“Kageyama, I wanted to—”

“Not about to reject your seniors’ goodbye, are you?”

“Tanaka-san, Noya-san!”

Nishinoya tackles Hinata into Kageyama’s lap, and Tanaka piles on top of them.

“It’s our last train ride you know!”

“I didn’t know you guys were taking the train,” Hinata squeaks from under their weight.

“Just for you,” Nishinoya says. “And the trolley lady, she couldn’t let us go without a proper goodbye.”

“Do you even know her name?”

“How could we go without wishing our kouhei luck?” says Tanaka.

“You’re not going to cry again, are you?” Kageyama says.

“Wha—Still a smarmy punk! I expected this from Tsukishima, but we raised you better!”

They unpile. Kageyama is grinning, so Hinata smiles too. Their seniors stand in front of them, contemplative.

“Look at these kids.” Tanaka hits Hinata’s shoulder. “I hate to say it, but I think they’ll be alright without us.” He looks to Nishinoya, who nods.

“So that’s what I’ve been feeling. Unneeded.”

Tanaka puts his hand on his shoulder. “It happens to all the best.”

“You guys are going to write to us, right?” Hinata says.

“Ha! Like we’ll have time for that. We’re free men!”

“You better hold on to that streak,” Tanaka says, hitting them each one more time. “Oh, and have fun with those N.E.W.T.S.”

They cackle as they exit the compartment. Hinata and Kageyama smile at each other. Then Hinata looks at his hands, fidgeting.

“So, I want to tell you something—”

Kageyama is looking narrowly over his shoulder. Hinata whirls around. Kenma is standing in the doorway.

“I’ll come back,” Kenma says, starting to step away.

“We’re just talking, just alone talking,” Hinata sputters, hopping up to pull Kenma into the compartment. “Just talking, since we were the only ones here. Did you come to say goodbye? It’s your last train?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ll write me, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Will you help us with our N.E.W.T.S?”

“If you’re actually willing to stay off your brooms long enough to prepare for them.”

“We’ll do fine ourselves,” Kageyama says, “If you think we’ll be such a chore.”

“Kageyama I’m trying to get him to help us!”

“Good luck next year,” says Kenma. “I want to see Gryffindor go down, though.”

Hinata laughs. “Sorry, no way. Thank you for this year, Kenma-san!”

He hugs him. Kageyama has stood up now, and he bows when they’ve let go, apparently ashamed of his snappishness.

“Thank you for this year, Kozume-san.”

“Good luck Kageyama. Goodbye Shouyou.”

“Bye, good luck!”

Kenma shuts the door behind him. Hinata turns once again to Kageyama, whose attention is already on him. Hinata smiles, but he shouldn’t have, because he doesn’t get a word out before the door opens again. Hinata almost throws his hands in the air, spinning with fire in his eyes.

“We wanted to come see you guys,” says Yamaguchi, “Because we miss riding with you, and who knows if we’ll all be on here next year to do this?”

“Yeah, who knows if everyone will have graduated and be allowed to go home,” says Tsukishima.

The duo snarls at him.

“Hey, I heard you passed Defense, Kageyama.”

He stiffens and nods.

“Did you?” Tsukishima says to Hinata.

“Of course I did!”

Yamaguchi asks again what they’re doing for break, saying they should all get together, since it might not be possible next summer when they scatter in different directions. Hinata agrees, and Kageyama and Tsukishima agree to at least correspond about the idea, before the prefects leave the compartment. Hinata is resigned to leave the door open and wave to all the others who call goodbyes from the hall. Yachi stops in.

“You passed!” She hops up and down. “You did everything on your own!”

“Yeah! Did you beat Tsukishima again this year?”

“Oh, um, I’m not sure, we didn’t compare scores.”

“Well let me know okay? You always send me my first letter of break.” Hinata smiles broadly.

“I’ll send it as soon as I can. I can’t believe we’ll be in our last year. I—I’m so glad for you two,” Yachi says. “For winning the Quidditch Cup, and passing your exams, and—and all the amazing things you’ll do next year.”

“You too, Yach-san, you’ll do amazing things too!”

“You will,” Kageyama says. “You’re always doing them.”

Her eyes shine at them both. She lunges forward and hugs Hinata, who stands and squeezes her back. Kageyama rises and waits for his turn, wrapping his long arms around her and smiling over her shoulder. Hinata feels warmth crawl from his stomach into his chest. The way Kageyama hugs her, and is sincere with her, makes Hinata proud. He’s proud of Kageyama for developing these relationships, this support system.

Kageyama catches him smiling after Yachi is gone.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Only now does Hinata realize the train has slowed.

“We’re here?”

The station flashes into the window.

“We’re here…”

“We haven’t changed,” Kageyama says.

Hinata scrambles onto the seat to reach his trunk overhead as Kageyama pulls the blind over the window. They stuff their robes away and tug on some respectable clothes. Kageyama straightens the back of Hinata’s collar, and when Kageyama has tightened his belt Hinata tugs his shirt neatly over it. Then he smiles.

They’ll turn seventeen soon. Graduate from Hogwarts and be able to use magic whenever they want. Kageyama is already filling out his chest, and trying for a less boyish hairstyle. He smiles when Hinata’s stupid, which almost makes it worth it. This year he threw even more passes that Hinata caught without thinking about it, busy being floored by how amazing they were.

Hinata opens the door.

“Ready?”

Kageyama is quiet. Hinata looks at him, and he remembers the shock when their hands were joined after Hinata saw his crow. He remembers when Kageyama hugged him in the common room for helping him with Charms. He remembers every flash of his eyes when he passed him the quaffle this season, and that smile, the one that fluttered, after last year’s cup win. Hinata turns and reaches for the door, to slide it shut, but someone else is pushing it at the same time. It slams with their combined force. Hinata looks up as Kageyama pulls his arm back. He turns to face him, feeling a faint heat in his cheeks. Kageyama’s face is all scrunched up like he’s holding back his breath and his voice and the very last of his dignity. Then he forces himself to make eye contact.

“Hinata.”

“Kageyama—” His tongue flops as he hesitates, but Kageyama doesn’t say more, so he blows out— “I saw your exam.”

Kageyama frowns. Then slowly his eyes grow huge. He gapes, then shuts his mouth tight. It peeps open again, and Kageyama glances away, and looks back at him. Hinata barely catches his words.

“What exam?”

Hinata swallows. He’s not really nervous, just anticipating.

“Defense. I was at the window on my broom.”

Kageyama says nothing. Now he’s maybe a bit nervous.

“You did really well, so well Kageyama! It was perfect, and amazing! The way it flew, just like the birds do over the forest—Ah—You got it!”

“You could tell?”

“Um, tell?”

“What it was,” Kageyama says.

“Oh. Um—I—Yeah.” He looks at his shoes. “I could tell.”

Kageyama doesn’t talk for one long moment.

“Are you angry?” he says, flat and stiff, looking past him at the closed door.

“What?” Hinata yelps. “Are you?”

Kageyama lets his face ask questions. Hinata can hardly acknowledge them. His head’s starting to spin.

“You—Why would I—I just—You know it’s not a big deal,” Hinata says. “It’s just an old wives’ tale, what they say about your Patronus and that—that soulmate stuff. Is—Is that what you’re talking about?”

Kageyama’s eyes drill into him, hot enough to melt.

“It’s just something people say,” Hinata adds.

“Well I think it’s true.”

Hinata has backed into the door. He bounces off and stands straight, lifting his chin to make himself look braver than he feels.

“Are you—Are you upset by it, then? By us having the same one?”

Kageyama adjusts his stance. He straightens his shoulders and puts his chest out before him. Hinata’s brows go up, and his eyes sparkle, and he smiles. Kageyama is always so brave.

“I’m not,” Kageyama says. “Are you?”

Hinata smiles. He chuckles, as his heart executes a poor tap dance.

“No, I’m not.”

Kageyama steps closer. He ruffles Hinata’s hair.

“Then we won’t worry about it.”

Hinata blinks. The smile warms his face again.

“Yeah.”

“Your family’s probably wondering,” Kageyama says, grabbing his trunk handle.

“Let’s go before it starts moving again. I’m not taking any more exams!”

At that, Kageyama flattens him against the door before he’s even gotten it open. They scramble down the empty aisle and fling themselves and their luggage onto the platform.

“Natsu!”

Hinata waves. When Kageyama looks in the direction of his mother and sister, they wave again. Hinata grins as his friend goes pink and gives a tiny wave back.

“Are your parents here?”

“My mom, somewhere,” Kageyama says.

“Okay, well then I’ll see you. After break.” Hinata turns to face him full on. He smiles. “Practice hard. But don’t hurt yourself.”

“Of course not, dumbass. You don’t hurt yourself.”

“If you get a new broom at least write me about it this time!”

“Fine.”

“Are you going to send me something for my birthday?” Hinata grins. “I’m going to be an adult in like a week, you know.”

“So learn how to tie a tie.”

“I can tie them just fine!”

“Your family’s waiting.”

“So is yours.” Hinata half smiles. Then he reaches and tugs on Kageyama’s sleeve, trying to compose away some of the admiration before he looks up at him. “Have a good summer, Kageyama-kun.”

Kageyama opens his mouth, and says nothing. Hinata takes the parting from his eyes. He smiles again and lets go of his sleeve, turning to grab his trunk. The swirl of parents and students has thickened around them, so he can’t see his family at the moment. His hand is grabbed.

“Hinata.”

He trips back in front of Kageyama.

“Have a good birthday,” he says. “And a good summer.”

He’s still holding Hinata’s hand.

“I will…” His heart starts skipping hopscotch as Kageyama looks so deep into him. When they’re on the field it blends with the exciting atmosphere, but here at Platform 9¾ Hinata feels the full shock of adrenaline and thrill. Kageyama adjusts his grip, _takes_ his hand, pressing into the groove beside his thumb, longer fingers curling around the edge of his palm.

They’re standing close, the ends of their shoes almost touching. Hinata glances around. No one seems to be paying any attention.

“You’re not upset,” Kageyama says, as if he’s just now believing it. Hinata smiles.

“I think it’s cool.”

Kageyama smiles big for an instant, then it fades off with the tilt of his head. Hinata cocks his head in wonder at Kageyama cocking his. Then Kageyama leans closer to him, down, shortening the gap between their faces. Hinata’s mouth falls open as his mind freezes up. What should he do? He looks from blue eyes down a buttony nose to thin, softly parted lips. He looks back into Kageyama’s eyes and smiles faintly. Kageyama looks down at it, and his head sways a little farther. Hinata edges closer.

They’re breathing from the same few centimeters of air. Hinata stares at Kageyama, and Kageyama stares at him. When their noses bump Hinata drops his eyes, absorbing details in Kageyama’s cheek and lash and lake blue iris. He lifts his chin, brushing his nose against his. Kageyama inhales with a tiny sound, and brushes back. Hinata glances at his lips, then back at his staring eyes. But it’s like a spell that they can’t get the words and wands to connect on. Hinata shuts his mouth and swallows. Kageyama lets go of his hand. A giggle bubbles out before Hinata can stop it. Kageyama rubs the back of his neck and looks another direction, but his lips are quirking.

Hinata reaches out and tugs on his sleeve.

“See you later, Kageyama!”

Kageyama smiles.

“Yeah. See you later.”

Hinata toddles away, grinning widely as his family waves him down. He looks over his shoulder one more time, then smiles forward again. One more year together. They’ll get there. Wherever it is they’re going.

They’ll get there. Hinata can feel it.


End file.
